MOBILE, Alabama - Put former Kentucky coach Fran Curci down as someone who thinks Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron will prosper in the pros. He's already playing like one, Curci said.

"That McCarron, to me, really makes the difference (for Alabama)," said Curci, who was in Mobile on Monday night to address the New Horizons Credit Union 1st and 10 Club. "A lot of teams have good linemen and good players, but this guy is good. He's really like a pro in there.

"There's always somebody open. He hardly ever throws an interception because he always has guys wide open. And that's because they run the ball so well, you have to respect that. And if you don't respect it, they're going to run the ball until you respect it. And when you do - bang -- they throw a pass."

Curci said McCarron has the ability to process the information he reads from the defense and act without hesitation.

"When the quarterback comes out," Curci said, "and he looks out there and the first thing he thinks, 'It looks like to me it's man-to-man coverage.' And that first step, they start going (into something different), without even hesitation the (Joe) Montanas of the world, the (Peyton) Mannings and this guy, they just turn over here or they go over there and the guy's always open and they never throw an interception. (Bob) Griese had that.

"There are so few guys that understand that. They're like computers. There are some guys, I won't use their names, they go back there and, all of sudden, they say, 'Now my coach said if this guy ...' It's too late. It has to be right now without hesitation.

"They can talk all they want to about pro football, but there are only three or four or five of those guys that can do that even now. I kind of think he's being coached to be like that. I like him a lot."

While quarterback seems to be a more diverse position in the NFL than it once was, Curci said McCarron fits the proven model.

"I think of all the guys they talk about, all these hotshots going off here," Curci said, "from what I think is going on in pro football, he's what you're looking for for a top pro. The Manziels and guys like that, even the kid at Washington, D.C. - RG3 - and then you've got Vick -- those guys can't play like that. They're going to get hurt. They can't do that. The Mannings and the (Tom) Bradys, the line is going to protect those guys."